


melt your headaches, call it home

by holtzbian



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-04
Updated: 2017-06-04
Packaged: 2018-11-08 19:26:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11088330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holtzbian/pseuds/holtzbian
Summary: Abby is really into that whole 'soulmates' theory. Holtzmann isn't sure.





	melt your headaches, call it home

**Author's Note:**

> A soulmate AU that no one asked for!!!!!  
> Very loosely inspired by something from Warehouse 13 (you win all the points if you watched that show).  
> Wrote this on a whim within a few hours, not proofread because I'm lazy, so...  
> Enjoy! xo

Holtzmann learned quickly after starting at the Higgins Institute that Abby is really into conspiracy theories. It makes sense, considering her main area of interest is the paranormal- she's always had a thing for the unexplained and unexplored, and Holtzmann is much the same. They spent countless hours in their lab discussing the Mandela effect and the fact that Avril Lavigne is certainly dead, but one of Abby's favourites had never really registered with Holtz. Considering that Abby wasn't one for romance herself, she was surprisingly enamoured with the whole soulmates thing. They'd each heard tales about it throughout their lives- there seemed too many incidents to write it off, yet not enough evidence to prove anything concrete. For Holtzmann, it was the science that bothered her. _How_ could one person feel another's pain without the trigger? Nerves aren't wired that way. People aren't wired that way. Still, it was intriguing, and she wasn't one to write off a theory- particularly not one that made her friend so excited. So she listened, she paid attention, when her partner in crime would get all riled up over a story about a woman being injured in a car crash and a man collapsing in pain across town, or a little boy falling in the playground and his best friend yelling out in pain from his classroom on the other side of the school. She wondered why, if it was true, there weren't more stories about phantom pain. Surely, with so many people in the world, not everyone lives nearby their soulmate and is able to make the connection. Surely a lot of people don't even meet their soulmate. If they exist. She doesn't think much of it.

 

She's working in her new lab one day when Abby comes rushing up to the second floor holding a few papers, and waving them around with a familiar joy.

Holtzmann grins, knowing exactly what this means, and hops over to meet her at the top of the stairs. They're still hot from the printer- Abby could have easily just shown her this on a computer, but she likes to keep physical copies of things. Erin's the same.

"Ghost or conspiracy?" Holtzmann asks as she takes the papers from her.

"Just _look_ ," Abby insists.

"Woman Visits Hospital With Unexplained Pain," She reads aloud,

"Meets Woman With Identical Injuries. Soulmates?"

Abby points to a line further down the page.

"After recovery, the woman realised they had met before at a recent wedding." Holtzmann reads.

"See?" Abby says excitedly.

"I bet it's triggered when they meet. There's _so_ much-"

"Can I see that?"

They both turn to see Erin peering over from her desk, head tilted curiously.

Holtzmann saunters over and drops the papers in front of her. The two lean on the edge of her desk as she reads.

"Huh." She says quietly, before turning back to her work.

Abby and Holtzmann share a curious look before going back to their conversation.

"Do you think they'd let us talk to them? They're just a few hours away and-"

Holtzmann places both of her hands on Abby's shoulders and stares her deep on the eyes.

"Abby. Abbo. Abbith. They've just been through a major trauma and tabloids are telling them they're soulmates. Last thing they need is a couple of crazy scientists harrassing them."

She pats her face fondly.

"Cool it."

Abby rolls her eyes, but sighs in agreement before stepping out of her friend's way-too-firm grasp.

"You're right. Maybe in a few weeks, though? I'll see if I can get an email address."

"Sure."

Erin chuckles from her desk as she watches Abby leave, shaking her head.

"What's funny?" Holtzmann asks, walking over to lean across the back of Erin's chair.

"Just seeing _you_ talk someone out of something crazy."

Holtzmann scoffs as she heads back over to her work station.

"I'm a _very reasonable person_ , Er-bear." She insists, before switching out her goggles and picking up a blow torch.

"You might wanna stand back. This is either going to disintegrate or explode. I really couldn't tell you."

Erin rolls her eyes, but doesn't move from her desk.

 

* * *

 

 

Holtzmann is pretty used to Erin watching her. She imagines it's hard not to, when she's just a few feet away being loud and setting things on fire while Erin works at her desk, but she watches her even when she's _not_ running experiments or emptying a fire extinguisher. It's not like Holtzmann doesn't watch Erin too. She does. A lot. Somehow, everything she does is fascinating. The way she pushes her hair behind her ears when she's concentrating, then realises and moves it back, self-conscious. The way she taps her pen when she's bored. The way her nose crinkles up when she laughs that makes Holtzmann wish she could make her laugh _forever_. (She tries.)

Recently, though, Erin's gaze seems to have intensified somehow, especially when she's working. She stays closer during busts. She stays closer all the time, actually. Their hands 'accidentally' touch more often. Holtzmann is pretty sure she doesn't even _have_ as many eyelashes as Erin claims to have brushed off her face. She kind of hates that she can't tell if this is just what normal intense female friendship is like, or if there's something more there. She pushes it down every time she thinks about it- which is, you know, a lot- there's just too much at stake.

Holtzmann is alone in the lab one night, long after everyone else has gone home, when she notices Erin left a jacket on the back of her chair. She wanders over and sits down, picking it up. She doesn't even have to hold it to her face, it smells so strongly of her, but she does anyway. She sighs, silently cursing herself for doing it, and her eyes fall on Erin's desk. In particular, on a sheet of paper sticking out of her notebook. It's the soulmates article Abby had shown them a few weeks ago. She picks it up, opting to give it another read, and accidentally pulls out a few other pages with it. _More_ soulmate stories. She laughs- Erin was the last person she'd expected to drink Abby's kool-aid. She spends longer than she planned to, reading them all. There's much more than she expected, and she considers that there might be more to the theory than she thought. She's read them all, Erin's jacket still in her lap, when the two things suddenly collide in her mind. What if this is real, and Erin is so interested because she's found hers? Her chest tightens at the thought, along with her grip on the jacket. She's in way too fucking deep. With that thought, she calls it a night, putting the jacket back exactly as she found it.

 

* * *

 

 

A few days later, they're called to an empty storefront that used to be a bookstore. It's really depressing- the whole team are big believers in the written word.

"Aw, man," Patty groans, picking up a dusty book from a slanted shelf.

"This is worse than the ghosts. Fuck kindles, man."

Erin is even quieter than usual, and wanders into a back room without anyone noticing.

"Guys!" She calls out after a few moments.

" _Look_ at this."

They follow her through the door and all fall silent at the sight. It obviously used to be some kind of cafe- there's sofas, chairs and tables scattered around, and a bar near the back of the room. But that's not what gets them. The walls are lined with bookshelves- hundreds, maybe thousands of books lining the wide room. It's like something out of a dream, or maybe Beauty and The Beast. They're all marvelling at it from different sides of the room, forgetting for a moment why they're there, when suddenly there's a crash, and Holtzmann is out of sight.

"Shit!" Patty yells, running over, as Abby fires up her pack to tackle the ghost responsible.

"I'm fine!" Holtzmann calls out, somewhere behind a fallen bookshelf.

"It's just my ankle! No-" Her words are cut off by a load groan as she tries to move.

"No vital organs, it's fine." She says with a grimace as Patty attempts to free her.

Abby gets the ghost with relative ease, kicks the trap away and runs over to help Patty lift the bookcase off of her.

"Thanks guys," Holtzmann says as they help her up, breaths laboured from pain.

"Where's Erin?"

"I'm over here," She says quietly.

"I'm fine, I'll, uh, catch you guys up."

The three share a look of confusion, but focus their efforts on getting Holtzmann back out to the car. She slings an arm around each of them and they hobble out. Erin slips into the front seat of the car almost unnoticed as Abby tends to Holtzmann's ankle in the back and Patty goes back inside to get the trap.

"You okay?" Erin asks, turning to face her, voice shaky.

"Yeah. You?"

"Yeah." She turns back and exhales deeply.

Holtzmann would press further, but she's a little preoccupied.

 

* * *

 

 

"I have PREVAILED!" Holtzmann yells as she swings open the door to the firehouse. From her wheelchair, she underestimates the force with which she's actually able to open the door, and it swings back on her foot.

"Ow. Fuck."

"One minute," Patty grumbles as she approaches behind her outside, pushing her properly into the building.

"I can't leave you alone for _one minute_."

Holtzmann raises her hands like she's doing a victory lap after scoring a winning touchdown as Patty wheels her over to Abby's desk.

"Hey, Ab, can you believe a bookshelf fell on a lesbian and she lived? It's almost like our lives _aren't_ being written by white men."

Abby laughs and high-fives her.

"Why are you in a wheelchair?"

"I'm not supposed to walk on it at all. It's broken in, like, nine places. It's awesome. Look."

She pulls an x-ray out of the bag in her lap and drops it on Abby's desk.

" _Nice_ ," Abby grins, looking it over.

"She refused to leave until the doc gave her a copy of it," Patty sighs.

"Girl is exhausting. I'm never being on Holtzmann duty again."

"Love you, Patty!" Holtzmann yells as her friend walks out to the kitchen.

She glances around the room.

"Hey, where's Erin?"

Abby shrugs.

"Called in sick. She probably just ingested too much dust last night. Immune system of a raisin."

Holtzmann frowns, suddenly remembering how weird she was acting the night before. She does her best to bury the thought, making a mental note to text her later.

"Hey, Ab, give me a push, I wanna see if I can do a wheelie in this thing."

"I'm not doing that."

 

* * *

 

 

Erin returns to work two days later, after complete radio silence- she's already upstairs when the rest of them arrive. Holtzmann is confined to the ground floor, the rest of the gang having given up transporting her up and down the stairs after Kevin had dropped her several times on the way up, and she insisted on coming down via the pole and Patty catching her bridal style. (This did not work, and ended with them both on the floor.)

"ERIN!!!" Holtzmann yells as they enter, seeing Erin's coat by the door.

"Jesus christ," Abby mutters, covering her ears.

"I'm here!" Erin calls back.

"COME DOWN!!" She yells again.

"Is there a mute button on this thing?" Patty quips, heading for her desk.

"Later!" Erin responds.

Holtzmann frowns at the brush-off, already frustrated by the separation from her lab. She nudges Abby and gestures upstairs. She takes the hint and heads up.

 

* * *

 

 

"You okay?" Abby asks tentatively, peering around the door.

"Fine." Erin responds quietly, engrossed in whatever she's reading.

Abby wanders over, pulling a chair up to the side of her desk.

"You didn't check up on Holtz."

Erin's head pops up at that.

"She's okay, right?"

"Yeah, she's fine. Even more annoying when she can't walk."

Erin nods, eyes returning to the papers in her hand.

Abby surmises that she's just in one of those moods- she's known her long enough to knows when she needs space. She heads over to Holtzmann's side of the space to check out what she'd been working on.

"Oh my god," She laughs, covering her eyes.

"Erin come look at this."

"In a sec."

"Erin, seriously," She's almost crying at this point.

"Not right now, Ab."

Abby heads over and pulls her by the hand out of her seat, making her yell out in pain and almost fall. Abby catches her, helping her back into the seat, laughter fading into hard concern.

"What the hell?"

"It's nothing, seriously."

Abby scoffs, sitting down next to her and pulling her leg on to her lap.

"Ow, Abby it's- stop! It's nothing!"

She examines her ankle, and finds, to her surprise, nothing.

"Is it the other one?" She asks curiously.

"No," Erin sighs.

Abby frowns, glancing over at Erin's desk, where her eyes are still glued.

"Are you- oh my _god_."

Erin's eyes widen in panic and she turns the sheets over, away from her friend's view.

"Don't, it's not-"

"Let me see that!"

"Abby-"

Abby takes the papers from her desk and walks away, rendering Erin pretty much helpless. It's all the articles Abby had hug up about the soulmate theory. And more- some that even _she_ hadn't found. And...

She holds it up to the light.

"Is this Holtzmann's X-ray?"

"No," Erin lies.

"Yes, it is. She left it on my desk."

She walks back over and drops the papers, sitting back down. She leans her face on her hand, grinning.

"Stop it," Erin groans, covering her face with her hands.

"Stop it _right now_."

"How long have you known?"

Erin sighs for so long Abby suspects she might have winded herself.

"I had my... suspicions for a while. I thought it was just, like, weird sympathy pain or something. And then she got hurt and I didn't even _see it_ , and-"

"Your ankle's all fucked up."

"Yeah. Everything's all fucked up."

"Erin," Abby softens considerably.

"This is such a good thing. Not only can we prove this theory, but-"

Erin's hand drop from her face, her eyes still closed.

"I have never cared less about proving a theory than in this moment."

"Okay," Abby nods.

"Okay, forget that. You like Holtzmann, right?"

Erin scoffs.

"You could say that."

"So what's the problem? Go tell her!"

Erin rolls her eyes.

"Ab, you know I love you, but this is not your area of expertise."

"Well, it's certainly not yours either. At least I'm an objective party."

Erin swallows hard, finally looking her friend in the eye.

"If anything happens- I want it to be because she wants it to, not because she feels like it's supposed to."

She pauses for a long time.

"You can't tell her. _I_ can't tell her."

Abby just nods, opting that being there for her friend is more important than anything else, even if she knows, _objectively_ , that it would be amazing.

"I won't. Okay, I won't. But at least now you know. Like, you _know_."

Erin stares at her hands not answering.

"What did you want to show me?"

"I think it's a new ghost trap prototype. There's a broccoli in it."

 

* * *

 

 

Erin manages to successfully avoid Holtzmann for the next few weeks. It's not difficult, considering she's confined to the ground floor. All it took was a little convincing to get Abby to come in early and help her up the stairs before Holtz arrived- doing it herself the first time had not been fun.

Eventually, though, Holtzmann is out of the chair and on crutches, and gets herself up the stairs through sheer force of will.

"You."

Erin looks up and feels the colour drain from her face when she sees her.

"Me?"

" _You_ ," Holtzmann repeats, shuffling into the room.

"Are avoiding me."

"No. We just um... We just haven't crossed paths much."

Holtzmann rolls her eyes so hard she almost gives herself a headache.

"We work in the same building everyday and I think I've seen you twice in the last three weeks."

"I've been... busy."

"Can you at least look at me?"

Erin does, slowly. She sighs, feeling herself soften at the sight of her. She looks smaller somehow, hunched over her crutches, the enormous medical boot on her foot so out of proportion to her tiny frame.

"Come over here and talk to me."

Erin doesn't answer, just looks at her.

"Really? You're gonna make me come over there on these?"

Holtzmann scoffs when she doesn't get a response, and slowly crosses the room to her. She drops into the chair that's been left next to Erin's desk, noticing how out of place it seems when Erin usually keeps everything in such order.

"Did I do something?" Holtzmann asks sincerely, her voice quieter than usual.

It breaks Erin's heart.

"No," She says softly. Tentatively, she reaches for her hand.

"You didn't do anything."

"You're not mad at me?" Holtzmann asks carefully, her eyes wide as Erin intertwines their fingers.

Erin smiles.

"I'm really, really not."

"What's up then?"

Erin pauses, biting her lip.

"Pinch me. Just on the arm."

"What?" Holtzmann laughs, her head tilting in confusion.

"Just do it."

"Er, I'm not gonna-"

"Just _do it_."

Holtzmann frowns, but does it.

"Ow!" They yelp in unison.

There's a long silence.

"What... the fuck?"

Holtzmann just stares at her, wide-eyed.

She pinches herself, then, and Erin jumps.

"What the fuck?" She repeats.

They just stare at each other for a long time. Holtzmann looks down at their hands.

"Is this- I mean, how long have you... known?"

Erin pushes her hair behind her ear nervously.

"I kind of noticed it, and thought it was me being paranoid about you hurting yourself, or something... and then Abby gave you that article and I thought... and then you hurt your ankle-"

"Oh _god_ ," Holtzmann looks up at her, sheer panic in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Erin. Are you okay?"

Erin just smiles at her.

"I'm fine."

"I'm gonna stop fucking around and closing doors on it."

She laughs.

"That'd be great."

They fall silent again, and Holtzmann runs her thumb softly across Erin knuckles.

"Holtz, um," Erin clears her throat, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.

"This doesn't mean... I mean, we don't have to-"

"It's a safety net," Holtzmann cuts her off, breaking into a grin.

"What?"

"It means I can jump off the bridge now."

Erin frowns.

"Given the circumstances, I'd much prefer it if you didn't jump off any-"

She forgets what she's going to say. Holtzmann is kissing her, and she forgets what she's going to say. She forgets how to breathe. She forgets how to do anything, anything other than kiss Holtzmann. She forgets that there is anything else. Anything other than soft lips on hers, gentle fingers in her hair- anything else seems pointless.

They pull away after what seems like a lifetime, yet somehow still too soon.

Erin smile fades quickly into a frown.

Holtzmann's expression drops with hers.

"What? Should I not have-"

"No! No-" Erin grins, shaking her head, pressing a quick, reassuring kiss to her lips.

"It's just, uh, my ankle doesn't hurt anymore."

"Really?"

Holtzmann tries to stand up.

"Fuck. Mine still does."

Erin just laughs at her.

"Of course yours still does. It's _broken_."

"Riiiiiiiight."

They just smile, looking at each other, their hands locked together.

"Is it weird that this doesn't feel weird?" Holtzmann asks after a while.

Erin shrugs.

"Maybe this is why there's so little information about it. Because it's not weird. It's something that just _is_."

"Abby is gonna have a hard time with that."

 

* * *

 

 

With Holtzmann insisting she's more than well enough for a good old fashioned ghostbusters night out, the four of them return to their regular bar that evening. Abby is _overjoyed_ with the revelations of the day, whereas Patty thinks it's weird as hell, but tolerates it, because, well, they've seen weirder.

"So it just _went away_ after you got together?"

The three of them collectively groan. They're seated at their usual table, Abby and Patty on one side, Erin and Holtz nestled together on the other.

"For the hundredth time, yes," Erin laughs.

"Do you think it would come back if you broke up?" She asks before glancing around the bar.

"Holtzmann, go flirt with that girl over there."

Holtz looks around to where she's pointing then turns to Erin, eyebrows raised.

"I mean, it's for science."

" _No_ ," Erin says firmly.

Holtzmann grins, throwing an arm around her and pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"I would never."

Abby rolls her eyes.

"You guys are gross. This isn't as much fun as I thought it would be."

Erin excuses herself to go to the bathroom, and Holtzmann watches her leave.

"You got it bad, Holtzy," Patty grins, raising her glass to her.

"That I do, Pattycakes."

Erin comes back much faster than expected and drags Holtz out of the booth, supporting her without her crutches.

"What's up?"

"Do you have a tattoo of a frog on your leg?"

"Definitely not. Why?"

"Because I fucking do now.

"Oh." Holtzmann pauses, and then keels over laughing.

"Yeah, I totally do. Sorry. You got any I should look out for?"

Erin grins.

"Turn around."

She does, and Erin's fingers brush gently over the back of her neck, sending shivers down her spine.

"Yep," Erin grins when she turns back.

"What is it?" She asks, turning to try and look at her _own neck_.

Erin lifts her own hair up instead to show her, revealing a tiny outline of a ghost.

"That is adorable."

"I know."

Holtzmann pulls her in for a kiss, and Erin doesn't even care that everyone is watching them. There's only Holtz for her, and there will only be Holtz for her forever.

They shuffle back over to the booth and slide in opposite their friends, who are already happily halfway to drunk, and laughing at nothing. Erin nuzzles into Holtzmann's side, both of them laying off the drink for the night- Holtz is on pain meds she doesn't want to mess with, and Erin wants to be sure she'll remember every little piece of this day.

"Why a frog?" She asks after a while.

"That's... a story for another time." Holtz replies with a wink, squeezing her hand.

"I'll hold you to that."

 

* * *

 

 

She does hold her to that. They fall asleep that night wrapped around each other, after exploring each other's bodies like they're long lost treasure. They each have a few more very interesting tattoos.

You'd think a pair of scientists would care more about proving such an obscure theory, but they don't. It's something that just is; it's undeniable, and it's theirs. They don't want to share it.

As she falls asleep the sound of Erin's heartbeat, Holtzmann figures that some secrets are worth keeping from the world, and some falls are certainly worth taking.


End file.
